Fresh agony for Alonso in Barcelona

Fernando Alonso's miserable 2017 continued in the opening practice session ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix as his McLaren was hoisted from the track early on Friday.

The two-time Formula One champion has yet to finish a race this season due to reliability issues with his car and its troublesome Honda engine.

McLaren, like many other teams, arrived in Barcelona with a number of upgrades but Alonso's luck showed no sign of changing as his MCL32 began to smoke and leak oil only 15 minutes after the green light in FP1.

With Alonso out of the car the McLaren was removed from the track by a crane, leaving his participation in practice in doubt.